Better Sales Tools

In today's ultra-competitive marketplace, the right sales support can mean the difference between gaining a market edge and struggling to keep your doors open. While nothing can support your sales effort more than a complete knowledge of your target customers' lifestyle and buying habits, smart sales materials can go a long way to helping your efforts.

Targeting influencers
Sometimes the best way to a customer's heart is through knowledge sharing. Providing useful resources that differentiate your products from the competition can be a budget-friendly way to reach your target audience.

Such is the case in the construction industry, where there are near-endless products available to architects, contractors and other building-material specifiers. Navigating the options can be challenging, so PPG worked with Brady Communications to develop a tool that would help busy specifiers by putting the most updated product information at their fingertips in a comprehensive, user-friendly resource. The resulting market segmentation pieces were designed as long-lasting, desktop reference guides that specifiers could use when deciding on materials to use for their jobs. The guides were developed as a series, each targeted to a different industry, be it education, healthcare or office building projects. So, for example, if the specifier was working on a school building and needed a coating suitable for a school cafeteria, the education-focused guide would tell them which PPG products fit the bill. This saves the specifiers' time, eliminating unnecessary research during tight deadlines.

Targeting store buyers
Smart marketers know that there are many steps to getting that ultimate, end-user sale. In retail, for example, a key step is with the store buyers. After all, your product won’t even reach the store shelves without their buy-in.

To promote a new line of single-serving fruit products, Del Monte's sales force needed materials that were easy to take on the road, but that were also attractive, featuring the strong brand in a creative manner. Given the sheer amount of products vying for store buyers' attention, business-to-consumer companies like Del Monte need to create a lasting impression with their sales materials. That's why Brady Communications designed a one-of-kind sales kit that featured the new, portion-sized products in an attractive lunchbox, showcasing a real-life use of the fruit.

So, the next time you want to generate attention for your brand in a crowded marketplace, consider looking for ideas in places other than traditional advertising or sales folders – maybe even in your lunchbox.